90pts Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

The 2020 Black Slate Porrera was produced with a blend of 70% Garnacha and 30% Cariñena that fermented in concrete and stainless steel and matured in 225- 300- and 500-liter barrels for 12 months. It's ripe at 15% alcohol with a pH of 3.5 and a black nose with some notes of graphite, fountain pen ink and licorice, black rather than red fruit, a little dusty with a hint of meat and blood, a little animal. It has some dusty tannins and an earthy feeling with a dry finish. 16,000 bottles produced. It was bottled in August 2021.

About the Wine

The Sangenís family farms 20 hectares of vines located around Porrera. Their
oldest vines of Garnatxa Negra and Carinyena are located in the famed Mas
d’En Caçador vineyard – arguably the Grand Cru of the village. The remaining
vines vary in age from 15 to 80 years old. Farming is done organically, which may
sound easy in such a warm and dry climate until you see the incline of some of
their sites – here any kind of farming is arduous. In addition to Garnatxa Negra
and Carinyena the estate grows Cabernet Sauvignon, Garnatxa Blanca, Xarel.lo,
Picapoll Blanca, Macabeau and Moscatell.

Having worked with Joan Sangenís for close to two decades it was a logical
decision to select his estate fruit for our Black Slate Porrera. With holdings in some
of the top sites in the village, including the famed Mas d’En Caçador vineyard.
The Black Slate Porrera is a blend of 20-30 year old (average age) Garnatxa and
Carinyena with a small addition of Cabernet Sauvignon that is aged in neutral
barrels for 12 months.

About the Winery

Joan Sangenís is descended from eight generations of unruly locals who farmed
various crops in Porrera His family first started making wine in 1814 and until
1996 they sold their wines in bulk to the residents of the village. Joan’s parents
Jaume and Mercé, who both still tend to the family’s vines, purchased Mas d’En
Compte in 1988 greatly expanding the scope of the family business. Along with
this purchase came a ancient, ruined house in the village which they renovated
with the intention of estate bottling their wines. With much of the newly purchased
vineyards being in disrepair, they also undertook resuscitating the old vines and
planting new ones and when their son, Joan, finished his studies in enology in
1996, Celler Cal Pla was born.

Grape Varietals: Garnatxa, Carinyena, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah

Organic